SakevssalesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Sake” and “sales” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#47,710
“Sake” frequency rank
#13,929
“sales” frequency rank
61639
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Sake sales
Definition japanisches alkoholisches Getränk, das aus mit Hefe vergorenem Reis hergestellt wird und heiß getrunken wird Plural des Substantivs sale

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Sake and sales apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Sake
5 ch
sales

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Sake ([ˈzaːkə]) and sales ([seɪlz]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61639, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Sake is recorded at frequency rank #47,710, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈzaːkə]. sales is at rank #13,929, tagged as anoun, pronounced [seɪlz].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 61639, this pair ranks #742,193 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Sake vs sales

Shared letters: aes. Private to "Sake": k. Private to "sales": l.

"Sake" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "sales" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Sakeaske · saek · sakke · skae · ssake
  • salesasles · saels · saless · salles · salse · slaes · ssales

Frequency comparison

Sake#47,710
sales#13,929

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Sake" and "sales" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈzaːkə] versus [seɪlz]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Sake" or "sales"?
"sales" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,929 in our German list, against #47,710 for "Sake". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Sake vs sales

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Sake” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list